Uneek
Super Moderator
Er, no, you need to double check your numbers...68-69 big blocks were making well over 400HP...some even 500HP...granted those were gross number, but even adjusted for net numbers, still had over 300HP...and tire shredding TORQUE.
And most people have swallowed the tripe about HP numbers. What you see in the brochures is peak HP.
What can matter most is the power curve over the entire RPM range. V8s compare to V6s (non forced induction) have (especially big blocks) broad, relatively flat power curves compare to V6s (which are better than I4s, of course).
And HP is work over time. TORQUE is the actually amount of power an engine makes at any given point...HP is about how fast you can make that power.
There are I4s that can make as much power as a V8, but you don't see them in heavy vehicles like full size trucks...why...TORQUE! It is the thing that gives you that push in the back off the line, it is what gets you up the mountain when fully loaded.
And to get TORQUE, there is a saying in America...'There's no replacement for displacement' (excluding forced induction of course).
Actually I won't mind a V6...just a big V6...say 4.6L :wink2:
anywho...
Just like to add... "Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races."